Jiang Li broke into laughter: âIâm not a gaming chip.â
âDonât talk about other things, today you can take it easy a bit.â Liu Xu grimly said: âEquestrian riding has always been Meng Hong Jinâs strong suit. Donât force it if you canât compete with her. If you happen to fall down by chance, the gains wonât make up for the losses. Anyway itâs determined that youâve won and wonât lose anymore. No need to bother so much about these minor details.
How many people had reminded her like this, Jiang Li still replied sincerely: âI understand, thanks for the reminder.â
This yearâs riding and archery were combined together. Different from the music exam, the students were divided into groups. There were altogether 30 students, just right to be divided into five groups. The people in each group were decided by drawing lots. Then the groups would draw lots to decide which one to go first.
The lot drawing went without a hitch. Jiang Li took a wooden stick from the wooden tube and gave it to a youngster. Liu Xu saw and said: âIâm in the 2nd group, you are in the fifth group. We are not together.â She looked somewhat regretful.
Jiang Li actually didnât care about this very much. She heard the noise over at Meng Hong Jinâs side, it should be a good friend of hers. She said: âHong Jin, you are in the last group.â
She was actually in the same group as Meng Hong Jin, the road was truly narrow for enemies. As Jiang Li was thinking like this, she saw Jiang You Yao approached her and said: âSecond sister, I didnât expect you to be in the fifth group as well. Fifth sister and I are also in the fifth group.â
Jiang Li simply wanted to lament in her heart. What kind of ill-fated relationship is this? There were six people in a group, against reason, Meng Hong Jin, Jiang You Yao, Jiang Yuâe and her were all in a group. Without mentioning who the remaining two people were, there were already three people in the group that regarded her as a thorn in their side. It would be strange if these people in the same group didnât trip her.
Liu Xu also thought a bit about this and couldnât help becoming slightly angry.
In the middle of her thoughts, she saw the nearby crowd becoming restless. Liu Xu turned around to see and said: âTodayâs examiners have arrived.â
There were not as many examiners today compared to yesterday. There were only three people. One of them was a soldier in armor, around 27 â 28 years old. With a majestic gait and valiant bearing, he was the current military rank captain Kong Wei. Because he ranked sixth in his family, he was known as Kong Liu1.
The other person was the former martial top scorer, now the military cavalryâs commander called Zheng Hu Chen. His age was almost the same as Jiang Yuan Bai. He had tanned skin and a mighty, robust build.
A glance could tell that these two people practiced martial arts, with unusual spirits. Just by standing in place, they gave birth to fear in peopleâs hearts. However, the last person was really beyond expectation.
Duke Su stood there, dressed entirely in red, holding a folding fan with golden thread, with a light smile and prominent appearance. But he wasnât weakened by Kong Liu and Zheng Hu Chenâs martial appearance. On the contrary, he was magnificent, making Kong Liu and Zheng Hu Chen seem to be his bodyguards.
Still, always incompatible with the place.
In her heart, Jiang Li was astounded, what is Ji Heng doing here? In yesterdayâs music examination, he surprised people by being the examiner. Could he also come today with a role?
It wasnât just Jiang Li that was clearly confused. In the audience seat, Cheng Wang also frowned. He said: âWhat is imperial brotherâs meaning with this. Why did he make Duke Su come again today?â
Cheng Wang had a restraining fear against Duke Su. Everyone knew, nowadays, Hong Xiao Emperor had complete trust in Ji Heng. Cheng Wang had tried to rope in Ji Heng, yet Ji Heng, this person, wasnât moved. Moreover, his means were exceptional. After coming across several sabotages, Cheng Wang no longer provoked Ji Heng. Still, he continued to pay attention to Ji Heng in the dark. He was aware of the work Ji Heng did for Hong Xiao Emperor so as not to be killed without knowing what happened.
Princess Yongning didnât reply, her mind had long flown onto Shen Yurong. Yesterday afternoon, after the music exam, Shen Yurong was supposed to meet her. But Shen Yurong evaded. Princess Yongning saw him avoiding and knew that Shen Yurong recalled his dead wife Xue Fangfei after listening to the music played by the female student and felt complicated. Thinking of this, Princess Yongning became more furious and unable to endure. Xue Fangfei had died, could she not compete with a dead person? She must get married to Shen Yurong as soon as possible. Shen Yurong was to keep up his infatuated appearance and observe mourning for three years, but she couldnât wait that long.
She would raise this matter to her mother concubine, Liu tai fei, after the examination ended, Princess Yongning thought inwardly.
On one side, Jiang Li was staring blankly at the slip of paper in her hand.
A total of six people, aside from Meng Hong Jin, Jiang Yuâe, Jiang You Yao. There were still two more noble daughters from Ming Yi Hall, Nie Xiao Shuang and Zhu Xinâer.
These two people gave the impression of spoiled daughters of government officials. Their temperaments also didnât seem to be particularly good. Compared to Jiang Li, they were on better terms with Jiang You yao. Jiang Li wasnât surprised, most of the noble daughters in Yanjing preferred Jiang You Yao over her.
Of all things, itâs the last groupâŚâŚ. Jiang Li muttered to herself.
No one noticed Meng Hong Jin, who was standing in the corner, glancing very quickly at Jiang Li. Her gaze was filled with a hard to cover hatred and satisfaction. This made her facial expression appear somewhat distorted. When people passed by her, Meng Hong Jin withdrew her sight and secretly grasped the wooden stick tightly.